“No, please do.”
I accepted the call and put the phone to my ear, turning slightly away from him, “Hello, Chrissie is that you?”
“No, it’s Blackie. Norma has gone into a coma and Chris was too upset to call, so I’m calling for her.”
“What do the doctor’s say?”
“That the antibiotics have not had enough time to work and she may not wake up from the coma.”
I could hear the concern in her voice and I felt sorry for her, “What can I do to help, Blackie?”
“Pray for Norma and maybe come sit with Chris this afternoon. She needs you right now.”
“Of course I will. Tell her I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, Meg.”
“Thank you for calling me, Blackie.”
I hung up the phone and turned back to Chris’s father, who had a questioning look on his face. I relayed my conversation with Blackie to him and then apologized, but I needed to get to the hospital to be with Chris.
“Wait a minute, let me make a call and then I’ll go with you.”
I was taken aback and then greatly relieved. He pulled out his cellphone and called Mrs. Livingston, explaining the situation and asked her if she wanted to meet us at the hospital. She must have said yes because he said he would see her in a few minutes.
More Secrets Revealed — Melinda Blackstone, Chris Livingston, Meg Bumgartner and Carl & Felicia Livingston
“What a fucking mess.”
“Did you say something, Melinda?”
I looked at Chris, her eyes puffy from crying, her cheeks smudged with tears, worry lines creasing her forehead, and yet, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. And instead of enjoying our first Christmas together, we sit in a hospital, fearing the worse and praying for the best.
“Chris, I’ve been thinking about this whole damn mess with our fathers and the sale of our building, and I’m at an impasse.”
“How so, Melinda?”
“I don’t want to go back to Vegas to live and I don’t want to live with my parents, so, um, I was thinking about buying a condo here, in Memphis.” I couldn’t look at her for fear of seeing rejection in her eyes, but I had to know for sure, before I settled here, if I would still be welcomed.
“Melinda, don’t — wait, is that my father? Oh, my gosh!”
Don’t what, damn it!
Chris jumped up and ran to her father, flying into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She was daddy’s little girl again. And then she hugged the woman standing beside him and I knew that had to be her mother, and soon the three of them were hugging and crying and talking over one another. It was truly a sweet scene, one that I found myself envying.
“It’s a touching scene, isn’t it, Blackie?”
I’m not sure how long Meg had been standing there, but I had to admit that she was right. “I’m really happy for them. So, was that your doing, Meg?”
“In a way, yes it was, but I just moved up their timetable was all.”
I looked at her dubiously, until I saw her face, and then anger engulfed my disbelief. “I think you’ve got some explaining to do.”
“Yes, I do, but not to you.” She stated, and walked away.
What the fuck? Had she been playing me all this time? And Chris? Did she jerk her around too? God, I hope not, for Chris’s sake. I could handle that kind of deception, but Chris thought the world of her, like she was family. How could Meg do that to her?
“Daddy, how did you know I was here?” I heard Chris ask as they walked toward me.
“Let us look at you first.” He held her at arm’s length and shook his head.
It was her mother who put into words what he was thinking, “Oh honey, you’re so pale and thin. Do you feel all right?”
“Yes mom, I feel fine. Just a little worried about Norma.”
“Is Norma still in a coma?” Mr. Livingston asked.
“Yes, she is… wait,” Chris took a step back, “how do you know about Norma?”
It’s a long story, honey.”
“And I have all the time in the world. What’s going on, daddy?”
“Where are your manners, Chris? Aren’t you going to introduce us first?”
Of course, mother.” Chris turned to Meg and me and said, “These are my parents, Carl and Felicia Livingston.”
I thought I’d spare Chris the awkwardness, and introduced myself. “I’m Blackie Blackstone. I believe you are working with my father, Robert Blackstone, on a special project?”
“Yes, indeed I am.”
“Daddy, how could you?” Chris crossed her arms and actually pouted. I almost laughed at her posturing, but it seemed to work on her father.
“Honey, can we please go some place private to have this conversation in?”
“There’s a quiet room the end of the hall, it might be a bit snug for all of us, but—”
“I’ll stay here and let you three talk.” I said, taking the high road even though I really wanted to hear what he had to say.
“No, you should come too, Blackie, and Meg, I want you there also.”
Carl was addressing us as if we were his employees attending his specially called meeting. I had a suspicion that one of us was his employee.
All of us grabbed a cup of coffee from the volunteer station, and filed into a small, two couches, and one chair room. Chris was right, it was very snug, and really drab looking, which did not enhance my mood.
“First, let me ask you, Chris, if you want me to tell your story in front of these two women, or save that for another time and just discuss the sale of your apartment building?”
Chris’s eyes were brimming with tears ready to fall, “Daddy, um, I want you to tell it all, but um,” she looked over at Meg, her face white as a sheet, “Meg, I um, will owe you and Bonnie an apology afterwards.”
“No you won’t, Chris, but I will owe you one.”
Chris looked at her curiously, and I began to see the story unfold even before Carl started telling it.
“All right then, I want everyone to remain quiet until I am done talking. No interruptions, understand?” He looked at each one of us, excluding his wife, and we all nodded our head in unison. “Chris, your mother and I love you very much, honey, always have and always will. But after you almost killed that man when you were driving drunk, we were at a loss as to how to help you.”
Chris looked down at her hands, wringing them together, as if trying to wring out the guilt. But Meg put her arm across her shoulder and showed her such compassion that I didn’t know she was capable of possessing. Felicia wiped away her own tears as Carl continued, although I could see this part was hard on him too.
“I consulted an old friend of mine and he suggested that we force you to stand on your own two feet. We didn’t come by our decision lightly, Chris. We struggled a great deal over it, but finally it was our only alternative.”
“I’m sorry, daddy.”
“Hush, I’m not finished yet.” He wasn’t brusque, but he was insistent, and continued where he left off, “We knew we could never abandon you, and the only way your mother would agree to it was if someone was there to protect you. Someone who had a vested interest in you, other than because we were paying her.”
Chris and I both looked over at Meg, and as the realization sank in, Chris pulled back and Meg removed her arm from her shoulder.
“I retained Meg’s services with the explicit understanding that she was not to let you know, or interfere with your progress. I can only imagine how hard it was for her those first couple of months. Her reports were so dire that we feared you might not survive and several times we thought about bringing you home again.”
“In fact, when we told you to leave, and your father closed the door on you, we almost changed our minds right then, it was so traumatic for us.” Felicia said.
“And then, just as we had lost all hope, you sobered up and got a job waiting tables. We were ready to bring you home right then and the
re, but we were afraid to trust you yet, so we made the decision to wait and see how you progressed. We decided on Christmas day that we would bring you home, but Meg here, threatened to quit on me because she didn’t want to lie to you anymore, and I couldn’t fault her on that. So, here we are, with open arms, hoping that you will see the wisdom of our plan and forgive us.”
No one said a word, “Do you have any questions, Chris?”
I could see her thinking, trying to absorb everything, and then she looked up at her father and asked, “And the building? Were you going to kick me out again, even after I had passed your test?” There was a twinge of anger in her voice, but I think it was directed at her father’s involvement with her building more so than in his deception.
“No, how could you even think that?” he said tersely.
“Because, I have trust issues too.”
“Okay, I probably deserve that, but no, honey, I was not going to kick you out again. It was timed so that you would be home already before Blackstone displaced the residents, otherwise I would have come and gotten you much sooner.”
Chris sat quietly, picking at a loose string on the arm of the couch. She seemed lost, almost like she was adrift at sea with no lighthouse to guide her to shore. I so desperately wanted to turn on that light for her.
Chapter Twenty
Conciliation — Chris Livingston, Melinda Blackstone, Meg Bumgartner and Carl & Felicia Livingston
I sat there, like a zombie, oblivious to anything else but my own thoughts. My mind went back to that day my father shut the door in my face and I felt the sting of his rejection as if it were yesterday. But this time, my mind took me even further back to where I so desperately did not want to go. Back to the driver’s seat of my car, a whisky bottle in my hand. Until now, I did not remember the swerve of the car hitting the shoulder of the road, or my swerving it back into the lane, but it was the wrong lane. Now I remember. The squeal of tires, the grinding of metal, and the glass shattering into a million pieces, played out in my memories. No, I don’t want to remember! But I had no choice. The memories had overflowed the dam, flooding my mind with pictures, forcing me to relive the accident. I walked away from my car without a scratch. He couldn’t walk at all, and probably never would.
“I have something I want to say,” I looked at my parents first, “I failed you both, and I am truly sorry. I’m also thankful to you for having the courage to kick me out of your lives. I understand it now, and I think perhaps you probably saved my life. But when a person is the recipient of tough love, they don’t see it as love at all, instead they…, I saw it as a multitude of things, like resentment, embarrassment, rejection and even hate.” My mother gasped and I quickly added, “I know now that you didn’t hate me. At first, I pulled myself out of the gutter to prove to you that I could win your love back. Now I realize that I had never lost it. Somewhere between then and now, my priorities changed. I wanted to give back, to help those less fortunate, because I didn’t have the means to give the man I put in a wheelchair back his legs. Now my only priority is to apologize to that man and beg his forgiveness, which I don’t expect to ever receive.”
I turned my attention to Meg, and placed my hand in hers, “Meg, you were there in that alley when I woke up, weren’t you?”
She nodded her head, but said nothing.
“I vaguely remember seeing a dark shadow in the corner, but I was too drunk to see that it was you. I also failed you, and I failed Bonnie and I am so sorry for that. I would give anything if Bonnie were here now so I could apologize to her.”
“She is here, Chrissie,” Meg put her palm over her heart, “she’s always here.”
“Meg, if you can forgive me, I’d like for us to stay friends. I’d like you to remain my big sister, um, if you want too?”
“Chrissie, you understand what that will mean, right?”
Meg had a smile in her eyes, and I felt the playfulness in her question, “What will it mean, Meg?”
“That you empower me with all the rights and privileges a big sister deserves, like teasing, nagging and annoying the heck out of you.”
“Yes, I will be happy to bestow those privileges on you.”
“Good, then as you’re big sister, I’m asking that you let that other stuff go, all right?”
“I’ll try, Meg.” I leaned over and gave her a friendly shove with my shoulder, and she shoved me back.
I wiped the moisture from my cheeks and looked at my parents again, “That’s all I had to say.”
“All right then, I guess we’re done here.” My father said.
I looked over at Melinda, who I realized had been quiet this entire time, “Unless you want to say something, Melinda?”
“Only that I wish you could feel what I’m feeling right now, listening to you as an outsider. You people give me cause for hope, and I am privilege to have been a part of your conciliation.”
Shocked, I could only say, “Wow.”
“What?”
Meg answered before I could, “That was just beautiful.”
“Thanks, I have my moments sometimes.”
“You should have them more often.” Meg teased
“Hey, remember you’re her big sister, not mine.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you, it’s a package deal. Anyone friends with Chrissie, is a subject in my sisterly regime.”
“Be careful what you ask for, because I’m not going anywhere.” Melinda said.
“And I’m holding her to that too.” I said with a grin.
Failure Is an Option — Melinda Blackstone, Chris Livingston, Meg Bumgartner and Carl & Felicia Livingston
It was late when the Livingston’s and Meg left the hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Livingston insisted that we eat something before they left. So Chris and I found ourselves in the hospital cafeteria once again, eating hospital food and allowing Carl to pay for it. Not that we really had a say so in the matter, he insisted on paying for all of us. The conversation continued once we were settled at a table, but this time it was about the future instead of the past.
“Chris, you look awfully tired, will you come home with us tonight and get some rest? And you’re invited too, Melinda. I can have our chauffeur drive you back in the morning.”
“Thanks, mom, but I prefer to stay here close to Norma in case she wakes up.” Chris said.
“Well, promise me you’ll be home for Christmas, at least.”
“Gosh, mom, I’m sorry, I can’t. Not if Norma is still in the hospital, and besides, Melinda’s test isn’t over until the twenty-seventh, so we can’t indulge in anything that we didn’t work for ourselves until then.”
“I don’t understand, honey, how will having Christmas with your father and I affect that?”
“Don’t you see, mom, it would be a failure on our part, because of the pack we made.”
“Chris, failure is an option if you don’t think of it as failure.” Chris looked at me as if I had lost my mind, “Your part of the test was to keep me from driving you to drink again, and my part was to abstain from everything else, including alcohol. You passed your test with flying colors.”
“First of all, that was not my test. My test was to sacrifice my space and privacy to make room for you. An easy challenge that got easier as time went by. In fact, I enjoyed having you there very much.”
“Are you saying that you enjoyed my socks hanging in the window to dry, or my underwear on the kittens head, or my makeshift Christmas tree made of clothes hangers?”
“Yes, actually I did, and don’t forget how much you enjoyed my flushing the toilet while you were showering, and eating tuna and pot pies all the time, and working a twelve hour shift and coming home to a lumpy bed.”
“Oh yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever forget those fun times as long as I live.” I sure hope I don’t ever forget them.
“When will your test be over with, Melinda?” Just like her daughter, Felicia preferred to call me by my given name. I kind of liked it. But unlike her daughter,
her memory was lacking because Chris had already told her. Perhaps she just wanted to hear me say it.
I looked at my watch and did some calculations, and then I said, “Five days, eighteen hours, and thirty-one minutes, but who’s counting.”
Felicia laughed and then unknowingly dropped a sledge hammer on my jocularity, “Yes, I should imagine that you can’t wait to get back to your own place.”
Chris looked pensive and I wondered what she was thinking, I hoped it was the same thing I was thinking. “Actually, Felicia, I’m selling my condo in Vegas so if you know of anyone who needs a swinging bachelorette pad, give them my number.”
I noticed that Chris’s expression had changed into an approving smile and I was relieved.
“All right, let me just leave you with something to think about, Chris,” Carl said as he stood up and put his coat on, “your monthly allowance is reinstated as of this moment, and raised to seventy-five hundred. Your car is in the garage, waxed and ready to use, and your birthday and Christmas presents are overflowing in your bedroom. When you are ready, come home, they will all be waiting for you.”
“Thank you, daddy. Give me some time to think about things, all right? I’m too preoccupied at the moment to be making life changing decisions.”
“I understand. And regardless of your decision to move back home or not, you are still our daughter, and we love you.”
Felicia added, “Yes, and even if you don’t come home, your allowance is still there for you to spend as you see fit, right Carl?”
Carl cleared his throat, “Yes, as long as it’s not spent to buy alcohol.”
“I promise you both that will never happen again.”
He looked at her keenly and said, “I believe you, Chris,” and then he slid his hand under his jacket and pulled out his wallet. Taking out several one hundred dollar bills, he handed them to Chris, who hesitated, and looked at me. “I’d feel better if you took this, sweetheart,” he said, “Do you need more?”
“No, daddy, this is plenty, thank you.” Chris took the money and hugged her parents, kissing them both.
From Riches to Rags Page 20
